Trade Culture Dimensions
Distinct Cultural Values, Attitudes and Trade Behavior
Professor Trompenaars has studied how people in specific countries resolve dilemmas. After analyzing problem resolution behaviors, Dr. Trompenaars has identified 7 basic dimensions for culture.
International trade consultants and lawyers consider these cultural dimensions when designing sales strategies where buyers and sellers originate from different cultures. This is particularly true for emerging markets unaccustomed to dealing with businesspersons from so-called more developed countries.
Below is a brief summary of the seven cultural dimensions.
Achievement vs. Ascription
In an achievement culture, people are accorded status based on how well they perform their functions. High achievers are given status in achievement-oriented countries including Austria, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. Achievers must continue to prove their worth, as status is accorded based on their actions.
In an ascription culture, status is attributed based on who or what a person is. This is based on age, gender and social connections.
Individualism vs. Communitarianism
People make their own decisions and achieve success alone in highly individualistic countries including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and France. Emphasis is on personal responsibility and decision-making, and negotiations are made on the spot.
Communitarianism is a culture like Japan that places the community before the individual. Success is achieved in groups, decisions are referred to committees and groups jointly assume responsibilities.
Internal vs. External
In an internalistic culture like the United States, people believe that what happens to them is their own doing.
Many Asian countries have an external culture in which the environment shapes their destiny. Because they don’t believe they are in full control of their destinies, often externalistic people adapt to external circumstances.
Neutral vs. Emotional
In neutral cultures like Japan and the United Kingdom, emotions are held in check. People don’t show their feelings.
In an emotional culture, feelings are expressed naturally and openly. People smile a great deal, talk loudly when excited and greet each other with enthusiasm. Mexico, Netherlands and Switzerland are high-emotion countries.
Specific vs. Diffuse
In what is called a specific culture, individuals are open to sharing a large public space with others and a small private space they guard closely and share with only friends and associates. Specific cultures like Austria, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States show a strong separation between work and private life. Invitations to public spaces are common.
A diffuse culture features similarly sized public and private spaces. Like most introverts, diffuse culture people guard both spaces carefully, because entry into public space also affords entry into private space. China, Spain and Venezuela are examples of diffuse cultures where work and private life are closely linked but intensely protected.
Time Orientation
In sequential cultures like the United States, people tend to do one activity at a time. Appointments are strictly kept, with a strong preference for following plans.
In synchronous cultures like France and Mexico, people usually do more than one activity at a time. Appointments are approximate, subject to change at any moment.
Universalism vs. Particularism
Universalistic countries focus more on formal rules than relationships. Nations characterized by high universalism believe that their ideas and practices can be applied worldwide without modification. Australia, Germany, Sweden and the United Kingdom are universalistic countries. America is also highly universalistic, which explains why U.S. multinationals repeatedly ignore relationships in a foreign culture. For example, Starbucks unsuccessfully launched its coffee shop in China’s Forbidden City while Germans rejected Wal-Mart’s standard big box stores.
Particularistic countries place more emphasis on relationships than rules. Countries that practise high particularism include China, Indonesia and Venezuela. Particularistic peoples believe that circumstances dictate how ideas and practices are applied. Therefore, ideas and practices cannot be applied the same everywhere.
References
This article presents independent insights based on research from International Management, Culture, Strategy and Behavior (6th edition, Hodgetts-Luthans-DOH) and Trompenaars’s Seven Dimensions of Culture.
